Help me decide about Barry Bonds?

Question

I can't decide if I should be happy when he breaks the record.
On the one hand, he is a world class jerk, hated by teammates and media alike, as well as baseball fans everywhere except for San Francisco.
On the other hand, even though I'm convinced that he used steroids, I'm equally convinced that there are more pitchers than position players who used steroids. It seems like the steroid use is a wash, and not an advantage.

Convince me one way or the other.

Answer 1

Just because others use steroids does NOT make it right for you, or anyone else to use it, It is still wrong.

Answer 2

I have been thinking a lot about that issue also. Steroid use has been going on for a long time in baseball and in other sports. Not too mention, HGH. I remember going to a baseball game many years ago, watching a player(Ken Caminati??) walk up to the plate, and thinking to myself, "Hey, isn't it obivious he is on roids or am I a moron???) I believe this abuse is a result of MLB, the owners, the players, and, yes even the fans. But, I also believe one of the major culprits is the sports media. They dropped the ball. Their job is just not to report but be a "watch dog" to help maitain the integrity of the game. They of all people knew exactly what was going on and ignored it. Why? doesn't matter. Now, everybody pretty much knows and assumes that Bonds used steroids. To what degree nobody will ever be sure. We also know that many other ball players were, or still are, using roids. So what do we do??? I think accepting the fact that steroids and other performance enhancing drugs will always be a part of sports and all us knew it was used. Further accept that it will never be completely extingushed from the sport.(Some say this is just an evolution of the game.) Maybe controlled, but never washed entirely. Now, what about Bonds??? Well, by accepting responsibility that all us are a part of the problem, and he is going to break the record no matter if we like it or not, it is still a major accomplishment considering all the factors invovled. (That being pretty much a majority of ball players are using, thus arguing a level playing field.) I decided I want to watch him hit that breaking home run. I don't know if I'll be happy about it, but, it is still a mile stone and that's how I am going to look at it. Neither excited, happy, or disappointed.

Answer 3

Assuming that evidence shows he did use steroids (nothing has been proven yet..), Barry still had 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases in 1998 when he allegedly began juicing. He has the highest OBP of any active player, probably of all time, and 6 NL MVP awards.(3 before 98 I believe).

He is a world-class jerk. No question. But, if you have never watched him crush a ball you are missing something. He doesn't trust the media or the fans, and just goes out and plays the game. The hardest thing to do in all of professional sports is to hit a baseball thrown at you at 90+ miles an hour. Considering a great hitter only hits 3-4 out of 10 of those pitches, he is deserving of his credit.

Answer 4

Steroid use is more an advantage to a position player, not a pitcher, as a pitcher prevents a batter from getting on base a majority of the time regardless. Bonds took far more steroids, HGH and employed various legal measures to get an edge than others, rather plain to see with a stack of baseball cards of Bonds throughout his career.

Breaking the home run is an impressive achievement, Bonds is a better player than Aaron by other measures like OPS.

But theres no need to be happy for Bonds breaking the record.

Answer 5

Bonds has always been a great hitter, and there is the possiblity that he took roids, but there are no failed drug tests for roids yet. While we may believe he did it, we can not just say he is guilty because in America it is innocent until proven guilty. He has been a world class jerk and an *** with the media for quite sometime, though recently he's been better with the media. And it is true many people in the league have used roids throughout the 80's, 90's, and 2000's, so I don't know it is difficult to decide to hate Bonds or root for him. He's going to break the record whether we want him to or not and recently I have found myself rooting for him when I used to hate him, i think it is because he's going to do it so let's get it over with already.

Answer 6

Look at two things
1. The classic steroid body change
2. Players stats usually start declining after his first 15 years due to aging and slowing reflexes. Bonds' batting average went from hovering just below .300 to .350 at that age! His home runs went from averaging about 31 to 52 at that age. No player ever has started playing twice as good in their late 30's! I don't know where you get that rumor about pitchers, but it sure doesn't seem to have helped them near as much as Bonds! I think all of this Clemons talk is just a smoke screen by the Bonds lovers to deflect attention away from him. Clemons' stats have always been pretty consistent for a pitcher. He also has followed his hero - Nolans Ryan's outstanding conditioning program.

Answer 7

Barry Bonds is playing for only one person, himself. He runs ground balls out when he wants to, and I can recall a game versus the Mets where he grounded to second base with a man on first. The mets turned the double play as Gotay flipped the ball to Reyes and Reyes jogged the ball to first base for the final out of the inning as Bonds merely started heading for the outfield. He hurts his team with his defensive skills and lack of ability to run. He is merely a record hunter. As for steroids, pitchers cannot used steroids. They however can use a form of enhancing drugs. Steroids increase muscle mass at an alarming rate, and pitches who need to remain flexible in their arms and legs must keep muscle mass down. Steriod use by a pitcher would create inflexability, thus elliminated a pitches speed and accuracy, as well as my create arm problems and constant muscle problems due to inflexability. However enhancing drugs can virtually slow the aging process and this was partially the case with Bonds, he was playing like a 30 year old when he was on the verge of 40, and now as he has removed the enhancements from his diet, we are watching him breakdown before our eyes. There is a major difference between being strong and having power as a hitter. Power is derived from technique and torque of the body and bat. While the more strength you have will make you hit the ball longer and harder, it's effect only applies to an already perfect hitting base such as Barry Bonds who has one of the best swings in the history of baseball. The enhancements didn't make him hit homeruns, he merely hit more of them because his body maintained it's strength throughout the season as other players started to tire toward the end of the long season he remained healthy and stronger thus allowing him to continue to hit. His enhancements allowed him to hit homeruns over the entire course of the season rather than jumping off to a fast pace and slowly chipping at the record toward the end of the season which was not the case as he maintained his post all-star pace through the postseason. Is he one of the greatest hitters of all-time? Yes. Does he belong in the hall of fame? Probably. Do i have any respect for him breaking this record? No.

Answer 8

Barry is the best player in baseball. I really think people should get over it not so much as it is or isn't a black or white thing, but he has stayed with 1 team for so long that you have to respect that, although it was not his only team just the loyalty of him and the San Fran faithful, please , this is a no brain-er he is the "man" and you can't deny that

Answer 9

Would you rather be a Jedi or a Sith?

Sure, the Sith are cooler, have that whole sinister mojo working for them, get chicks despite looking like three-day old roadkill, can cut in line and get away with it, and never have to bus their own table. But they also have to succumb to the dark side and give in to their rage and hatred, and tend to get their tush kicked when the good guy Jedi show up. So it's a mixed cursing.

The Jedi tend to win, but have that air of righteousness about them that pisses off people just because. They get respect but have a hard time making friends, and even a rainbow-colored lightsaber only makes up for so much. Get to hang around hot space princesses but (for preference!) stay chaste. But, hey, nothing and no one beats the light side of the force.

Choose. Choose wisely.

Answer 10

i hear you.

It still takes a gifted batter to decide when to swing the bat - and Barry is great at that. That being said, the advantage of steriod use makes what would otherwise be a double into a homerun.